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The secrets behind on-field communication in NWSL title game

Becky Sauerbrunn is the anchor of Portland’s backline and lines of communication. (Craig Mitchelldyer/USA TODAY Sports)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The way players on a soccer team are able to anticipate each other’s movements at times can seem like a melding of minds. In other instances, the labor of communication is obvious, as goalkeepers yell out to their backline during clearances and midfield leaders guide their teammates forward.

The Portland Thorns and the Kansas City Current have achieved a combination of both, with verbal and non-verbal communication techniques carrying them all the way to the 2022 NWSL Championship in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.

While both teams communicate at a high level, they differ in their approach. A number of Current players, for example, prefer intuitive movements that rely on team principles and non-verbal connections.

“As much as we try to communicate, sometimes having no answer is an answer enough,” defender Kristen Edmonds says.

Portland players like to problem-solve using check-ins during breaks in the game and clear commands in the heat of the moment. With each tactic, they give their teammates a full picture of what they are seeing on the field.

“The most important communication is the one that’s going to create the most damage,” Thorns defender Meghan Klingenberg says. “So if it seems like something’s going to happen, and it’s going to create big shockwaves, that needs to be the number one priority.”

While each team’s collective approach is not always the same, positionally things line up. There’s an inherent relationship between a player’s ability to see the whole field and responsibility to communicate, which means the hierarchy begins with the goalkeepers.

“Whether we need to make a tactical change, or I’m just seeing maybe a passing lane that’s been open a few times in a row, I try to take chances [to speak] when the game resets,” Thorns keeper Bella Bixby says.

Along the defense, Portland staggers its line of connectivity, with wide players speaking more to the wingers and center-backs communicating with the defensive midfielders. “My communication style is a lot of pointing,” Thorns defender Becky Sauerbrunn says, and center-back partner Kelli Hubly agrees: “When we all get quiet, then that’s when stuff is probably not going great.”

For Kansas City, body language along the backline is everything. “Non-verbal communication has been a big piece for us throughout the year in season,” Current keeper AD Franch says. “Your demeanor, the way in which you approach things, your movement on the ball, off the ball — those are all different types of communication.”

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Kansas City's AD Franch and Portland's Bella Bixby are vocal throughout games as the last line of defense. (Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In the midfield, the ability to size up a full-team defense is paramount when you’re trying to force your opponent into turnovers. Kansas City midfielder Lo’eau Labonta quips that her communication style is “loud,” but specifically notes that she tries to help with pressing triggers, letting players in front of her know that she’s got them covered when they push forward.

“I need to hear voices, especially being in the middle of the park in a stadium that’s filled with 20,000 people,” teammate Desiree Scott says. “I need to hear the people around me to guide me.”

In the attack, most players pride themselves on being good listeners. With the breakneck speed of NWSL play, you often just have to trust what you hear from the players behind you. “As a center forward, you really don’t see a lot,” Thorns striker Sophia Smith says. “You check your shoulder, but you can only see so much.”

Forwards gesture whether or not they want the ball at their feet, but more often than not, a perfectly timed run hinges on the ability to read tendencies. To receive the ball, attackers have to turn back and watch play develop behind them, which can leave them vulnerable to challenges or turnovers.

“Obviously, we don’t have eyes in the back of our head, so it’s hard to know what’s going on around you at all times,” Current forward Elyse Bennett says. “So having people in the midfield behind me to kind of communicate where I can press or where I can put off angles is huge, because it saves me from looking behind myself all the time.”

Outside the lines, the managers try to make sure that their instruction isn’t heavy-handed. Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson and Current coach Matt Potter each singled out one of the main barriers to communicating: crowd noise. Managers can try to project, but as attendance throughout the league rises, they have to pick their moments, including when to call players over to the sidelines for in-game instruction.

“Something maybe I wasn’t ready for as a female coach was — no one ever talked about it to me — it was how you strain your voice,” Wilkinson says, calling her attempts to shout from the coaches box “useless” as her voice disappears every game. “If they don’t want to come to the bench because of whatever reason, I trust their leadership to take care of it.”

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Current coach Matt Potter trusts his players to problem-solve when he can't pull them over during games. (Amy Kontras/USA TODAY Sports)

Potter focuses on breaks in play and halftime, and when the noise gets too overwhelming, he relies on his team to problem-solve on their own. “We trust our players, and we try to give them as much autonomy to be the decision-makers as they possibly can,” he says.

Across the board, players agree that encouragement is as equally valuable as commands, especially as the clock winds down.

“If someone needs to press, I want to tell them that I’m with them so that they can go fully,” Hubly says. “Because when you hear someone behind you going, ‘Go, go, I’m with you,’ you’re going to be like, ‘OK, cool. I’m going to go as hard as I can.’”

“I’m big on energy,” adds Scott. “And I think that kind of encouragement really helps you continue on, especially when the momentum of the game can change.”

As both teams focus intently on their own processes, don’t expect much crosstalk on Saturday. Players say they don’t usually notice chatter from their opponent, outside of formational changes and negative emotions.

“I don’t hear [opponents],” Klingenberg says, “unless they’re being complete assholes to each other.”

“I only hear if they’re being negative towards each other,” Kansas City wingback Hailie Mace says. “I think that kind of lights a fire and I’m like, ‘Let’s go. We got into their heads.’”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

PWHL Announces Vancouver Expansion Franchise Ahead of 2025/26 Season

New York's Jade Downie-Landry and Ottawa's Shiann Darkangelo face-off during a 2025 PWHL game.
The seventh PWHL team will be in Vancouver. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

The PWHL is officially expanding, with the second-year pro women's hockey league awarding Vancouver its seventh franchise on Wednesday.

The league's first-ever expansion squad faces a short run-up, joining the current six-team roster when the puck drops on the 2025/26 PWHL season.

"To be able to grow this fast is just a testament to the great sport, our great athletes, and how people feel about the work that we’re doing and what our players are putting out on the ice," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.

Vancouver fanbase bolstered city's PWHL bid

Commenting on the eight-month expansion evaluation process, Scheer called Vancouver's bid "unbelievably robust," and noted that the city's "engaged, vibrant, fun" fanbase and its "remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey" helped earn the Canadian community a team.

That commitment was on display at the PWHL's recent 2025 Takeover Tour, which drew major crowds as the league tested expansion prospects in non-market cities across North America.

Vancouver stood out, notching the the fourth-largest crowd in PWHL history when 19,038 fans showed up on January 8th — and claiming the highest social media engagement across all nine Tour stops.

That fan enthusiasm helped push Vancouver across the PWHL's expansion line, with the new team already making league history.

Besides marking the league's first-ever footprint on the the West Coast, Vancouver will become the first PWHL team to serve as the primary tenant in its home venue at the Pacific Coliseum.

The 17,713-seat arena and its adjacent PNE Agrodome — PWHL Vancouver's main training facility — will undergo extensive upgrades for the incoming franchise.

"The expansion brings greater visibility to the West Coast, expands out geographic footprint, and, most importantly, grows the game," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.

A young fan holds up a sign reading "Just finished my 1st hockey season, PWHL here I come!" at a PWHL 2025 Takeover Tour game in Detroit.
PWHL execs said expansion adds roster spots for current and future league stars. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

League eyes next steps for expansion team

While the PWHL still has over 20 proposals from markets requesting a team — and rumors swirling that Seattle could join Vancouver as a 2025/26 season expansion contingent — the league is currently making more concrete plans for its official seventh squad.

"With this team comes more opportunities for the best women's hockey players in the world to continue competing in one league," remarked Hefford. "The talent pool has never been deeper, and with a strong 2025 draft class ahead, we're pleased that even more women are going to be able to play at the professional level."

Details for an upcoming expansion draft to begin stocking Vancouver's roster will be announced shortly, and the team will also take part in the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24th.

"The PWHL is setting a new standard for women's hockey. The game has never been faster, more physical, or more skilled," Hefford added. "We're so excited for this city to experience the parity and the competitiveness that our league has every single game."

Bay FC to Host Washington at SF Giants Ballpark, Eye NWSL Attendance Record

A wide view of San Francisco's Oracle Park set up for a 2022 soccer match.
Oracle Park’s 40,000-seat capacity could set a new NWSL attendance record. (Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The NWSL is heading back to the ballparkwith 2024 expansion side Bay FC announcing Tuesday that the club will take on the Washington Spirit inside Oracle Park, the home of MLB's San Francisco Giants.

Shifting the August 23rd match to the baseball diamond isn't just a spectacle — the move builds on Bay FC's continuous ambitions to claim the top NWSL attendance record by filling the Bay Area ballpark's 40,260 seats.

Though the 25-year-old Oracle Park has previously hosted men's contests, August's NWSL match will be the first professional women's soccer game in the venue's history.

Similarly, while this will be the first NWSL competition in San Francisco's baseball venue, it's not the first league match in an MLB stadium.

Last summer, the Chicago Stars hosted Bay FC at Wrigley Field, packing an NWSL-record 35,038 soccer fans into the MLB home of the Chicago Cubs.

That June 8th, 2024, attendance surpassed the previous league-record crowd of 34,130 that attended USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe's final Seattle home game in 2023.

How to attend Bay FC vs. Washington at Oracle Park

To be a part of the potentially record-breaking August 23rd crowd, tickets will be available for general purchase beginning at 12 PM ET on May 6th.

Fans interested in securing pre-sale tickets can add their names to the online list.

Portland Rookies Top Gotham in Midweek NWSL Action

Portland forward Deyna Castellanos celebrates scoring a goal with her teammates in a 2025 NWSL win over Gotham.
Three Portland Thorns rookies scored their first NWSL goals on Tuesday. (Soobum Im/NWSL via Getty Images)

In Tuesday night's NWSL action, Portland upset a rising Gotham side 4-1 behind three debut goals from the Thorns' promising rookie class.

The rare midweek match came courtesy of next month's Concacaf W Champions Cup. Both Gotham and Portland advanced to the international club event's semifinals last October, forcing them to pull double-duty and add this week's extra regular-season NWSL game to accommodate the tournament's schedule.

The tight turnaround certainly didn't rattle the Thorns.

Portland newcomers Marie-Yasmine "Mimi" Alidou, Caiya Hanks, and Jayden Perry all earned their first NWSL goals in the match, before offseason signee Deyna Castellanos reinforced the victory with an 80th-minute chip.

As for Gotham, 32-year-old star forward Esther provided a bright spot for the NJ/NY squad, notching her fifth goal of the young season to boost herself to the top of the league's early Golden Boot race.

Despite the loss, Friday's strong outing against Angel City has Gotham still holding steady at No. 4 in the standings. However, both No. 5 Portland and No. 6 ACFC are close on the Bats' heels, with all three teams currently tied at eight points apiece.

"What I told the team is that we lost the battle tonight, but this is a long war," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros following the match. "We're there together on this."

How to watch Gotham, Portland this weekend

Gotham will take the pitch once again on Saturday, when they'll face East Coast rivals Washington at 1 PM ET. Live coverage will air on CBS.

Meanwhile, Portland will close out the NWSL's sixth matchday by hosting Racing Louisville at 4 PM ET on Sunday, streaming live on Paramount+.

TST Drops Expanded Women’s 7v7 Tournament Bracket

USWNT jerseys for Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger hand in lockers before their 2019 World Cup quarterfinal.
Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger will feature for the US Women’s 2025 TST 7v7 team. (Catherine Ivill - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The Soccer Tournament (TST) presented by RBC Wealth Management revealed its 2025 women's bracket on Tuesday, with 16 7v7 teams gearing up to compete for the $1 million winner-take-all grand prize this June.

The US Women's Team is back to defend their 2024 title, fueled by World Cup-winning USWNT vets Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd, and Ali Krieger, plus retired Scotland national and Bay FC defender Jen Beattie.

Additional teams participating in the competition include 7v7 offshoots of NWSL clubs Angel City, KC Current, and 2024 runners-up NC Courage, as well as former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo's Solo FC.

Returning to Cary, North Carolina, for its third year, TST doubled the size of its women's bracket after a successful eight-team debut in 2024.

"Our inaugural women's championship game viewership performed exceptionally well, as we grew our audience 452% from the beginning of the game until the moment the game-winning goal was scored," TST founder and CEO Jon Mugar told The Athletic.

"TST soccer is electrifying," Mugar added. "Our goal is to become the preeminent soccer festival in the world. Judging by the number of returning fans and teams, we are well on our way."

How to attend, watch the 2025 TST 7v7 contest

TST's 7v7 women's competition kicks off on June 5th and runs through the $1 million championship game on June 9th.

Tickets to attend are currently available online.

All matches will air live on either YouTube or ESPN platforms.

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